### Avro format details

Avro-formatted external sources require you providing the schema in
one of three ways:

- Using the [Confluent Schema Registry](#using-a-confluent-schema-registry).
  - When using a Schema Registry, Materialize looks for the payload schema using
    the
    [`TopicNameStrategy`](https://docs.confluent.io/current/schema-registry/serdes-develop/index.html).
- Providing a path to a file that contains the Avro Schema.
- Providing the Avro schema [in-line when creating the
  source](#inlining-the-avro-schema).
